Cleveland Cavaliers will not play Andre Drummond, and will try to trade the star center before the deadline

The Cleveland Cavaliers no longer plan to play Andre Drummond as they work to trade the two-time All-Star center before the March 25 deadline on the NBA, sources told ESPN.

The Cavaliers want to make Jarrett Allen the long-term starting center of the franchise and believe it is unfair to Drummond to limit its minutes as the organization moves to Allen, sources said.

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman discussed the move with Drummond and his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, and decided together that Drummond would stay with the team but would no longer be active for games, sources said.

Cleveland is starting to gauge the trade market, but there are no serious discussions with any team, sources told ESPN.

Drummond did not dress on Sunday night for the loss of the Cavaliers against LA Clippers, and this will continue on Monday against the Golden State Warriors and into the future. According to the Cavs, Drummond missed Sunday’s game for rest, and he came up with a sweater with the word “farewell” on the front of the game.

When he reached out on Monday morning, he did not want to confirm or deny the decision, but told ESPN: “In whatever direction it is, Andre 27 is in his best time, and I strongly believe he should contribute a lot to a team build.after a post-season run.

Drummond is playing on a current contract of $ 28.7 million, which makes the salaries in a brand a huge challenge. He averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in 25 starts this season. There are a number of teams interested in the 7-footer, sources said.

The Cavaliers will have to withdraw $ 23 million contracts to make a Drummond deal work.

There is no discussion about a contract buyout that will enable Drummond to become a free agent, sources said.

Drummond’s future with the Cavs faded last month when Cleveland traded for 22-year-old Allen, who has become the franchise’s center of the future. Drummond will be an unlimited free agent after the season, and Allen a limited free agent.

Allen played well in 15 games with the Cavs, averaging 13.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff recently moved Allen to the starting lineup.

A multiplayer experiment that Drummond and Allen played together was not successful as the Cavs plunged into a slump that includes their current losing streak of seven games. Kevin Love, who has been sidelined with a calf injury since December, is expected to return this week and further tighten the Cavs’ leading minutes.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks contributed to this report.